January 1, Lake Michigan Shipwreck Found After Decades-Long Hunt

Wyatt’s Take

• Shipwreck hunter Paul Ehorn tracked down the lost Lac La Belle steamer after 57 years of searching.
• The 217-foot ship sank in 1872, taking eight lives and carrying valuable cargo.
• The discovery highlights threats to Great Lakes history as invasive mussels take their toll.

An Illinois diver finally uncovered a piece of lost history in Lake Michigan, finding the Lac La Belle steamer more than 150 years after it vanished.

Paul Ehorn spent nearly six decades on the hunt, using new clues and technology to pinpoint the wreck 20 miles from Wisconsin’s shoreline in 2022.

“It’s kind of a game, like solve the puzzle,” Ehorn said. “Sometimes you don’t have many pieces to put the puzzle together but this one worked out and we found it right away.”

It took years to announce the find because Ehorn’s team wanted to build a complete video model of the wreck, but bad weather put off follow-up dives until 2025.

The Lac La Belle, built in Cleveland in 1864, ran routes across the Great Lakes before its fatal 1872 voyage from Milwaukee to Grand Haven. The crew and passengers hauled wheat, meat, flour, and whiskey when huge waves brought the old steamer down. Eight people died trying to escape after a lifeboat overturned.

Invasive quagga mussels now cover the ship, but its hull and oak walls have survived. Shipwreck hunters are racing the clock as more wrecks get eaten away.

The Great Lakes may still hide thousands of shipwrecks, with only a fraction found so far. Ehorn’s latest success marks his fifteenth shipwreck uncovered in the region.

“It was one more to put a check mark by. Now it’s on to the next one. It’s getting harder and harder. The easier ones have been found.”

Jobs like this keep our country’s past alive, even as time and nature try to erase it.

Wyatt Matters

Hard work and grit uncover stories that connect us to where we come from. These discoveries remind us that persistence and passion can still bring new pride to our communities and keep our shared past alive for future generations.

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